Long-Term Investing Leads to Financial Freedom

Some respond authentically, “I'm not sure where I am. My financial advisor doesn't seem to have a plan. He puts my money here or there, but I’d like to know why.”

They strip off the ego and admit they want help.

Others hide behind a shield of ego and pride, and I get it. We don't want to remove those barriers the first time we have a call with somebody.

But as I dig into their stories, I find that most doctors don't have a game plan.

A lack of a game plan means doctors don’t know what to ask when they meet us. Their default question is, “What kind of returns do you get? What ROI do your Freedom Founders members achieve?”

Respectfully, I push back.

If a patient calls your office to have a broken tooth fixed, do they know what questions to ask? The patient’s default question is, “How much is a crown?”

The patient is jumping ahead. Maybe they split the root and need an implant, an abutment, and a crown. There are also different types of crowns to consider. There are many other questions to ask that would lead them to the result they want and need. But patients ask the only question they know, “How much will it cost?”

The same is true regarding investing. Many factors need to preface the question, “What is the highest return?” It's not the right question to start with. 

High Returns Are Not Always Worth It

Seeking high yields and returns is natural. It’s our go-to.

Several years ago, Bitcoin was climbing to $69,000, and everybody wanted to get in on it. Then, the value went into a freefall. Bitcoin’s unpredictable volatility makes it a speculative investment.

When you invest, certainly, you must seek a return. But there’s a difference in results when you play the long game (decades) vs seeking short-term highs.

Attempting only to hit home runs does not lead to financial success. Babe Ruth holds third place for the highest career home runs with 714, yet his batting average was .342.

Hank Aarons has the second highest at 755. His batting average was .305. Barry Bonds, the record holder with 762 home runs, had a batting average of .298.

There’s a pattern here. The more you attempt home runs, the more you miss before hitting one. When you do hit a home run, there is something dangerously addictive. It can lead to a false sense of confidence that causes you to swing too hard on the next opportunity. 

Trying to shoot for the moon all the time is not a solid or sustainable financial plan for the long haul. So what is?

Learning how specific investment assets generate profit, are sustainable in the long run, and protect against volatility will help you achieve your goals much faster. Real, tangible assets that produce cash flow are needed to build a stable and adaptable financial plan.

Some investors believe they can find these investment assets in the financial markets. Maybe they do.

In my experience, I have yet to find someone who, after investing in alternative investments like real estate and businesses, ever returned to the financial markets for their primary financial goals.

In fact, I've seen many run from the financial markets into real estate.

Investors who understand alternative investments never go back to the financial markets.

If you find somebody who has, please send me their number. I’d truly love to talk to them about their experience.

If it is the case that alternative investments are superior to the financial markets, why are so many investors still investing on Wall Street?

Long-Term Asset-Based Investing is Not Easy

Investing for your future is never easy. If it were, everybody would do it. Everybody would invest in an index fund or ETF and do well.

When you put your money on Wall Street, you are handing it over to a money manager who selects options from a menu: a balance fund, a small cap fund, a growth fund, etc.

Do you really know what those investments do? Does your money manager know what's in them? It's usually just nomenclature – just names.

Do you have any control over those investments or access to the decision-makers responsible for them? 

Do you have any way to mitigate the broader risks of the market as a whole? 

The only driver of your financial future success is a game plan that withstands shifts in the market over a long period of time. This means you will need to put some time into it.

You have to become educated on your game plan and the assets used in it.

The typical response is, “I don't have time. I'm supposed to be working in the chair or in my business.”

Yes, your time is more valuable when you apply your expertise and skillsets, but if you are working in the practice, you are still trading that time for dollars. The moment you stop running on the hamster wheel, your income comes to an end.

When will you free up your time if you keep trading it? What’s your plan for creating more Freedom of time now while you are still young enough to enjoy it? 

There are ways to fold time or speed up your education. Success in real estate requires strategic education and the development of certain skill sets – just like success in any other area of life. 

It's hard to feel ignorant when you have a higher education and are exceptionally good at what you do.

This is where you have to let go of your ego.

No one can do everything.

This means you will need help.

Long-Term Investing Requires the Right Education and Mentors

The fastest path I know of for folding time to get to my goals is to leverage the experience and wisdom of others who have gone before. 

Find people who don’t have a financial interest in what you invest in. This means they don’t have a financial incentive one way or the other, no commissions or kickbacks (unlike most financial advisors)

Beware of those who sell one-size-fits-all products. They will try to fit square pegs into a round hole, i.e., recommend investments that don’t fit your goals.

Look for a customized plan with investments that move you forward to your chosen goals.

This plan must include education and a safe space to ask questions without being sold a particular investment product.

Stay away from “the product of the day.”

These criteria are what make or break long-term investing.

How do I know?

I have forty-plus years of experience in real estate investing. I've seen the ups and downs in the markets. I've figured out what works for me. It's not a theory I “hope” will work for you. It's what has worked for me and hundreds of doctors.

I have taken what I learned and created a customized blueprint process that has helped hundreds of other doctors and medical professionals with their financial freedom game plan.

Learning how the world of alternative investing functions and behaves is enlightening. Many state that they can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. No more keeping your fingers crossed. You don’t have to guess when you’ll have enough. 

You can have specific, measurable milestones to confirm your progress and shift your money in the market cycles to continue growing and protecting your wealth.

Securing your capital in the coming years and decades will be more critical. The old days of making money wherever you threw it are over.

If you’re ready to get clarity on your financial game plan and understand your next steps to secure your capital in sustainable, cash-flowing assets, I invite you to schedule a call with one of my team members here.

Talk to you soon.